They had not played in the NCAA tournament since 2006 and will make their first Sweet 16 since 2005.

Despite Mark Gottfried being in his first season as the North Carolina coach, players were intent on not allowing 2012 to become a season of settling.

“One of the first things I said when I met coach Gottfried was I don’t want this to be a rebuilding year,” forward Scott Wood said. “I think we have the talent and the pieces for this to be a dominant team.”

They didn’t dominate in the regular season, losing 12 games, but they are taking over the tournament with upsets over two higher seeds.

The Hoyas, meanwhile, have lost to a double-digit seed for the third straight tournament, following up with losses to No. 13 Ohio in 2010 and No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth last season.

Georgetown gave up a 10 point first-half lead and its offense stymied when center Henry Sims picked up two early fouls and eventually fouled out.

The Hoyas cut into an 11-point North Carolina State lead to trail 62-61 with 37 seconds remaining. Wood made only one of two free throws to open a door for the Hoyas, but their plan to get the ball inside to Sims did not work and Otto Porter took an off-shot.

Lorenzo Brown made three of four free throws down the stretch for the Wolfpack to lead by three points with 4.6 seconds to play. A game-tying shot by Georgetown’s Jason Clark whiffed and the Wolfpack began celebrating having years of frustration lifted from their shoulders.

“What stands out is how they’ve gotten better,” Gottfried said of his players.